


Death of a Goldfish

by FaithAndATypeWriter



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Also Semi-Comedic, Death of a pet, F/M, Is It Minor Character Death if its a Goldfish?, Red Herring Because I'm Not Giving Away The Big Surprises, Taking one for the team, semi-sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22432276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithAndATypeWriter/pseuds/FaithAndATypeWriter
Summary: Manon is dealing with the loss of her pet and Marinette is there to make it a little easier for her...with some unexpected twists along the way.Maybe her first mistake was forgetting about Adrien's photoshoot.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 32
Kudos: 384





	Death of a Goldfish

Marinette finished the last repairs on her Team Miraculous dolls while Tikki swept the scraps off her desk and into the trash. Sitting back with a smile, Marinette sighed and was happy with her work. Manon was coming over today while her mom was scheduled to work. Neither Nadja nor Manon liked it when Nadja had to work on a Saturday, so Marinette was hoping she could make the day a little brighter for the girl by surprising her with the dolls she loved so much.

Marinette repaired and made alterations to her original dolls so they were less likely to break and she also made new dolls representing Rena Rouge, Carapace, Ryuko, King Monkey, Pegasus, and Viperion. Her room was clean and ready to become a playground, her homework was done and out of her mind, and all her commissions were put away and in a safe holding zone--both mentally and physically--until she could get back to work on them. She’d sent a text both last night and first thing that morning to remind Alya she was babysitting and would be unavailable. Everything was in perfect order and nothing could go wrong.

When her cellphone rang and Nadja’s ID flashed on the screen, Marinette cheerfully answered the phone.

“Good morning, Mme. Cha...Mme. Chamack what’s wrong?” Marinette asked. 

Tikki appeared next to her, obviously sharing her concern, as Marinette tilted her phone so they could both listen. On the other end of the call, Manon could be heard wailing in brokenhearted sobs.

“Oh, Marinette!” Nadja sounded at her wits end and as if she’d forgotten she’d even called Marinette in the first place. “We’ve got a problem.”

“How can I help?” Marinette asked immediately.

“I’m not sure you can.” Nadja sighed. “I was actually calling you because I’m not sure I’ll be bringing Manon over today after all…”

Marinette winced. She knew Nadja was very popular on TVi, but she was also under a great deal of pressure. Taking the day off of work at the last minute could potentially put her job in jeopardy if it happened often enough, so whatever happened must be serious.

“Manon is absolutely inconsolable.” Nadja explained. “You see, she’s been wanting a pet for a while now and she was hoping for a cat.” Nadja sighed. “But I explained to her how much hard work and responsibility went into caring for a cat, so I convinced her to start off by learning to take care of a fish.”

“Uh oh…” Marinette sucked in a breath, guessing what happened.

“So we got a goldfish a couple of weeks ago--she named him Mr. Whiskers--and she’s been working so hard to take care of him and even went to the library to check out books to learn how to take care of a fish properly.” Nadja sounded utterly defeated.

“I take it Mr. Whiskers is no longer with us?” Marinette said hesitantly.

“Manon found him belly-up this morning.” Nadja sighed. “She’s just devastated--she thinks she didn’t take good enough care of him and blames herself. I should have known this would happen, goldfish are notorious for having short lives!”

Marinette decided to remain mum about the fact that, with proper care, goldfish could have much longer lifespans than a few weeks. 

“I can’t just leave her today.” Nadja said, almost absently. “She won’t even let me flush him.”

A thought occurred to Marinette. “Mme. Chamack, how would Manon feel about giving Mr. Whiskers a more formal memorial?”

“What do you mean?” Nadja asked, slightly hopeful.

“Well…”

Within a few hours, Nadja was able to make it to work on time--frazzled and slightly ridden with motherly guilt, but managing. 

After talking to Manon, Marinette had set to work. She quickly took a small, empty milk carton, cut it into a boat, and painted it black. Going through her collection of scrap fabrics, Marinette found a remnant of black chiffon that she could drape across the “casket” when the time came. Soon, Marinette and Manon were gathered at the park, both in black dresses--Manon’s complete with a rhinestone unicorn emblazoned on the skirt. Marinette had also taken a small square of black tulle to make a little veil that she pinned to Manon’s hair. 

The little girl was still sniffling and every so often a fat tear would roll down her cheek. Manon held the carton close to her heart as she and Marinette walked to the fountain. Marinette was glad that, though it was a beautiful day, very few people were in the park--let alone lingering by the fountain. Marinette kelt down by Manon and gave her a quiet hug, allowing the little girl to grieve for a moment, before she offered to take the carton from her.

“Hey, Marinette! Hey, Manon!” 

“Yipe!” Marinette yelped when Adrien’s voice startled her from behind. The carton went flying from her hands but thankfully Adrien reached out and snatched it before it could fall to the ground.

“Careful of Mr. Whiskers!” Manon cried.

Marinette placed a hand to her racing heart and sent an apologetic look toward Manon. Inwardly, she was lamenting why Adrien was here  _ now _ ! Now, when she had to remain appropriately calm and sober out of respect for Manon’s pet! Now, when she couldn’t afford to succumb to nervous babbles and spastic flingings of goldfish coffins!

“Mr. Whiskers?” Adrien asked, studying the carton-coffin. His bodyguard came up behind him and also peered at the thing. Now that she was looking, Marinette realized she could see the remains of a photoshoot on the other end of the park and she cursed herself for forgetting about it.

Marinette placed a hand on Manon’s shoulder before leaning over to whisper an explanation to them both. “Mr. Whiskers was Manon’s pet goldfish.” They both raised an eyebrow at the fish’s name and Marinette thought she saw a twitch come from Adrien’s shirt pocket. Weird. “We’re having a funeral service for him right now.”

Adrien gave Manon a sad smile in understanding. He knelt down to her level and gently gave back the carton. Manon instantly cradled it again as new tears flooded her eyes.

“I’m sorry to hear about Mr. Whiskers, Manon.” Adrien said. “I’m sure he loved you very much, and it’s obvious you loved him.”

Manon simply nodded her head. 

“Would you like me and my bodyguard to join you?” Adrien offered, looking between Marinette and Manon.

Manon seemed to brighten at the possibility and there was no way Marinette could say no--though she did manage to stutter out a few words to make sure he knew he wasn’t obligated.

Surprisingly, both Adrien and his bodyguard--he told Manon (well, through Adrien since he didn’t really speak verbally, himself) to call him the Gorilla and that brought a smile to her face--both fully invested themselves into the fish funeral. Manon said her final goodbyes again before she relinquished the carton back to Marinette. After carefully floating the carton out in the fountain’s pool, Marinette draped the chiffon over it and stepped back next to Manon and held her hand. She’d brought candles for them to hold for the memorial, but only brought two since she didn’t know Adrien and the Gorilla would be joining them. Adrien helped her light the candles, making sure the wax guard was in place before they carefully gave one to Manon and Marinette held the other. Adrien felt a strange flutter in his heart as he watched Marinette handle the situation with confidence and care.

Finally, after a moment of silence, Marinette began the little speech she’d come up with after talking with Mme. Chamack.

“Friends,” Marinette began softly, “we gather today to say goodbye to Mr. Whiskers, beloved pet of Manon Chamack.”

Manon sniffled and grabbed onto the nearest hand, which happened to be the Gorilla’s. 

“While we did not have the good fortune to know Mr. Whiskers for long, Manon will always hold his memory in her heart.” Marinette continued. “It is because of Mr. Whiskers that Manon now knows the love of a pet often is accompanied by the sadness of loss. It is okay to be sad that Mr. Whiskers has died, but hopefully soon that sadness will be overshadowed by the memory of the happiness you two found in each other. May you always remember that love and allow your heart to continue to share it without fear of the sting of grief.”

“‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’” Adrien quoted Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Marinette hit play on her phone and a quiet hymn began to play as Manon stepped away from them to stand by the fountain.

They held back and allowed her a moment of silence, reverently bowing their heads. Marinette knew she’d have to duck back later to fish the carton out and dispose of the goldfish properly, or maybe her Papa could dash out and grab it, but for now she gave Manon her full attention, wanting her to know they take her grief seriously.

Adrien leaned over a moment later and whispered to Marinette, “This is really sweet of you to do, Marinette.”

Marinette blushed but held her own, managing to simply whisper back, “Thank you, Adrien.”

They watched as Manon brushed her fingers lazily across the surface of the water. The carton buoyed toward her and she laid a gentle hand on top of it, drawing it closer. For a moment, Marinette thought she might not have to sneak back to gather the goldfish because Manon seemed to understand they couldn’t just leave the carton in the fountain.

Then Manon took her candle and ignited the fabric, turning the funeral raft into a funeral pyre.

“‘May the Valkyries welcome you and lead you through Odin’s great battlefield.’” They all dropped their jaws as Manon word-perfectly quoted the funeral speech from  _ How to Train Your Dragon 2 _ . “‘May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla and know that you’ve taken your rightful place at the table of kings.’” 

Marinette felt a strangled whimper rise out of her throat as she watched the smoke rise from the tiny pyre. This was  _ not _ what they talked about.

All three of them whipped their heads around when they heard a whistle down a ways past the fountain. Officer Raincomprix was calmly meandering his way along the sidewalk, steadily making his way closer to the fountain.

Making use of his girth, the Gorilla stepped forward and blocked the view of the pyre.

Adrien snapped to attention and blew out Marinette’s candle. “Grab Manon and get her out of here!” he said in rushed whisper. “I’ll fish out the fish and give him the twenty-one flush salute! Quick before we’re busted!”

Marinette nodded and jumped forward to blow out Manon’s candle, long since regretting not using her electric tea lights for the ceremony. 

“Let’s go back to the bakery for the reception, okay, Manon? How does that sound?” Marinette said with a tense smile. “I bet Papa has a cupcake ready just for you!”

“Do you have any Goldfish crackers?” Manon sniffled. “I think Mr. Whiskers would have liked that.”

“Let’s go see.” Marinette picked Manon up and they said a quick goodbye to Adrien and the Gorilla.

As soon as they were out of sight, Adrien lunged for the fountain and almost capsized the little raft as he doused it in water. He barely made sure all the flames were out before he scooped it out of the fountain. Adrien looked around and started to panic. He didn’t have to peek around the Gorilla to know that Officer Raincomprix was fast approaching. With no other option in sight, he shoved the soggy, charred mess into his pocket and drew his shirt ends over it to cover it.

His father would probably pass out if he saw him.

Officer Raincomprix approached them not a moment later. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” he said jovially and then hesitated as he noticed the wet spot on Adrien’s jeans and the both of them looking awkwardly nonchalant. The mark looked suspiciously like the young man had wet himself, yet the location was slightly too far off to the side for that to be true. “You folks doing...alright?”

“Absolutely!” Adrien gave a friendly smile. “What a great day to be alive, am I right?”

The Gorilla grunted in affirmation and almost seemed like he was holding back a laugh.

“O-kay then…” Rodger looked at them skeptically but then continued along his route. “Have a safe day.”

The Gorilla sagged in relief once the man was gone. Adrien, on the other hand, squished his face into an expression of distaste as he tensed up from the mess that was dripping down his pants. His bodyguard just chuckled at him and clapped him on the back as they walked back to the car--Adrien walking almost robotically in discomfort. When they got back to the mansion, the Gorilla ran interference with Nathalie so Adrien could make the dash to his room undetected. Thankful to be able to get out of his fish-pants (as he was mentally referring to them) instead of receiving a horrified lecture, Adrien almost didn’t mind the cackles he got from Plagg as he cleaned himself up and took care of Mr. Whiskers’ last rites. 

Although, Adrien’s heart nearly stopped when he found out Plagg had taken covert pictures of the event with his phone. Then again, they might be nice to look back on later. Some parts might even be funny once he got the smell of fish out of his laundry hamper.

Later, after Plagg had to dodge a sock Adrien threw his way after another playful tease about the whole event, Plagg relented and gave his boy a playful nudge. “Ah, I’m just kidding, Kid. You know, you and pigtails did good today; you were really there for that little girl. You two will make great parents someday.”

Adrien’s cheeks flooded with color. “P-Plagg! Marinette and I are just really good friends!”

Plagg smirked at him. “I didn’t say anything about you two being parents  _ together _ , you supplied that all by yourself.”   
  


Adrien’s eyes bugged out and his face paled as Plagg started cackling again.

Still, he considered all of Plagg’s teasing worth it when a week passed and he received a text from Marinette. The same strange flutter tugged at his heart the moment he saw her name, but he almost forgot it a moment later when he saw the cute picture she’d sent him of Manon’s new calico kitten named Goldie.

**Author's Note:**

> I was slightly inspired by The Cosby Show and their episode about a goldfish’s death and then when I was naming this I found out that Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street both had episodes named “Death of a Goldfish.” In their honor, this fanfic is dedicated to them.


End file.
